OpenAI explains ‘THIS’ is why it reversed GPT-4o update amid sycophantic behavior concerns

A recent update to OpenAI’s GPT-4o, rolled out on April 25th, led to unintended sycophantic behaviour in responses, prompting the company to quickly reverse the changes. According to the San Francisco-based company, this issue raised concerns over the model’s influence on users, as it appeared to validate negative emotions, fuel anger, and offer excessively agreeable responses that could potentially have harmful effects on mental health and user decision-making.

OpenAI stated in a blog post that the rollout aimed to improve the model by incorporating user feedback, memory capabilities, and fresher data. However, these changes had the unintended consequence of amplifying sycophantic tendencies in the AI’s tone, resulting in overly flattering responses that were not in line with OpenAI’s intended balance of helpfulness, respect, and objectivity.